Nottingham Puppet Festival
Enjoy shows, talks, film screenings, workshops and free outdoor events at the Nottingham Puppet Festival
The Nottingham Puppet Festival is back! This is your chance to fill your life with all things puppet from 9th - 21st April.
There are workshops showing you how to make them and to make them perform, exhibitions and talks and of course, shows galore!
In venues across Nottingham, whether you are under three or going on 93, there is something to attract you to the world of the puppeteer!
Check out our podcast and follow the links to the Nottingham Puppet Festival website for details, but be aware, things are selling out fast!
Puppet Festival Podcast
This podcast is a deadly serious look at the Nottingham Puppet Festival, featuring Guy and his ventriloquist sock puppet for in-depth analysis, Marionette 1 and 2 to explore the social impact of the festival and an assortment of random and ultimately undefined puppets to add perspective … oh and of course Dunc to keep things in an even keel.
Feature Events
Launch event
In Conversation with Ronnie Le Drew
Nottingham Puppet festival
9th April
Theatre Royal, Theatre Square, Nottingham, NG1 5ND
Join us for an amazing insight into the world of legendary puppeteer, Ronnie Le Drew. Ronnie has worked in theatre, TV, film and commercials since the 60s and is probably best remembered as the puppeteer who brought Zippy to life on the classic Children’s TV show, Rainbow.
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The National Puppetry Archive
Exhibition
Nottingham Puppet festival
Until 25th April
The Window Gallery at City Arts, City Arts, 11-13 Hockley, Nottingham, NG1 1FH
Blundall is best known for his early work in television with Gerry Anderson. One of his most famous designs was Parker for Thunderbirds. In 1968 Blundall founded the Cannon Hill Puppet Theatre company, housed within the Midland Arts Centre in Birmingham. Until 1992, he was its artistic director, writing, designing and directing more than 50 productions. A selection of puppets from some of these productions is on display.
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In Conversation with Nick Barnes
Talk
Nottingham Puppet festival
11th April
Royal Concert Hall, Theatre Square, Nottingham, NG1 5ND
Join us for this amazing insight into the world of puppet making. Award-wining puppet creator, Nick Barnes, who has created the puppets for the stunning production of Life of Pi will talk about his journey in the puppet world, the concepts and techniques for the puppets he has designed and how puppets are now common-place in theatre productions.
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Janet
Plus pre-show event and talks
Nottingham Puppet festival
12th April
Performing Arts Studio, Lakeside Arts
Join us for a drink and some pre-show puppet talks. Spend some time with theOBJECTproject Exhibition, meet some quirky puppet characters, and get under the skin of puppetry in the UK – with a focus on Women's place within the art form.
About Janet
Emmerdale meets Monty Python in this deliciously surreal show, following the life of Janet from conception to tragic-comic end. Janet, 1.5kg of uncooked bread dough, refuses to give in to destiny and be cooked. Other characters are played by various kitchen paraphernalia and differently-shaped loaves.
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City Centre Day
Exhibition Outdoor Event Show
Nottingham Puppet festival
13th April
City Centre, Nottingham,
Puppets are coming! Nottingham Puppet Festival will be taking over the city centre streets for a day of amazing puppet performances and parades.
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Life of Pi
Show
Nottingham Puppet festival
15th - 20th April
Theatre Royal, Theatre Square, Nottingham, NG1 5ND
Based on the best-selling book by Yann Martel, the five-star hit show heads to Nottingham. Jaw-dropping visuals and world-class puppetry combine in a unique and ‘breath-taking’ (The Times) theatrical event that is ‘a wonder to behold’ (Daily Mail).
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Puppet Cabaret
Show
Nottingham Puppet festival
Various dates
Theatre Royal, Theatre Square, Nottingham, NG1 5ND
A cabaret night with an entertaining twist! Join us on the Royal Concert Hall Level 4 foyer to enjoy a host of late-night short-form puppet shows. From the personal to the risqué, the evening will include Amy Nicholson’s extraordinary Dog Show – Pupi. Experimental, funny, risky and done by young and old, proving that puppetry can be made by anyone, and about anything.
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Mountbatten Hospice Wing Walk 2024
Emily Jones
In 2024, I am taking to the skies and taking part in the first charity Wing Walk on the Isle of Wight in aid of the wonderful Mountbatten Hospice on the island who looked after my lovely Dad and our whole family in his final weeks.
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